


Give a Dog a Bone

by Abarero



Series: Cats and Dogs [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, M/M, Paleontologist!Yuuri, werewolf!victor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-05-01 02:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14510520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abarero/pseuds/Abarero
Summary: Yuuri's used to uncovering mysteries, digging up bones and hoping to gain some insight into the creature they once belonged to through them. But when a large white dog appears at his dig site in Russia, he finds himself unraveling a tale more fantastical than he could he could have ever expected.





	Give a Dog a Bone

**Author's Note:**

> Written for liveloveyoibang's third bing theme of Fantasy and Romance! There's a parallel story in the series written by [BlueberriesV](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueberriesV/pseuds/BlueberriesV%22) that you can find on the series link. Beta by [Adjit](https://adjit.tumblr.com/)! Oh and art at the end is also by me ^^;;

It was the third day of the dig when the dog first appeared.

 

The group of international paleontologists had been working at the Cheremushka site in Russia for the last three days and finally, after what seemed like ages, Yuuri had found something that he hoped might lead to a bigger find.

 

“I think I’ve got another tooth!” he called out, forgetting for a moment that the rest had left for lunch.

 

Instead, a large fluffy white dog sat staring at him. Yuuri blinked at it, its piercing blue eyes seeming to stare right through him. He offered it a smile.

 

“Hey there, what are you doing down here?”

 

The location was definitely a bit of a walk from the nearest road and Yuuri hadn’t noticed any pawprints in the mud the day before. But before he could think more about where the dog wandered in from, it had closed the distance between them and sat down at Yuuri’s side, wagging its tail happily.

 

Yuuri put down his chisel, and after wiping the dirt on his fingers off on his pants, he reached over and gave the dog a gentle pat on the head. The dog excitedly nuzzled up into the touch and Yuuri wondered, after noticing all the stray bits of debris in the dog’s fur, how long the animal had been loose.

 

“Do you have an owner? Are you lost?”

 

It was strange, but for a moment Yuuri could have sworn the dog shook its head in the negative. But that was ridiculous. Clearly he was imagining things in his hunger.

 

He stood up at that, brushing all the dirt he could from his clothes and walking over to his bag to unearth his lunch. Perhaps he just needed to pause for a bit and eat something. Then he’d stop overthinking things.

 

“Are you hungry?” Yuuri had asked, pulling out a sandwich. “I don’t have much, but I’ll share.”

 

Once more, Yuuri could’ve sworn he saw the dog nod.  He quickly tore off a half of the sandwich and tossed it to the dog, beginning to eat the other half himself.

 

By the time the rest of the paleontologists had returned from lunch, Yuuri was already back at work, chatting away with the dog seated at his side as if it was perfectly normal to be carrying on a conversation with a dog.

 

“So since this used to be a Permian river system, most of the fossils we find aren’t complete. Just bits and pieces. But I’ve found two teeth that I think go to some carnivorous dinocephalian and maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll find a bit more of the skull at least.”

 

“I leave for maybe thirty minutes and I’ve been replaced by a dog,” Phichit, the paleontologist from Thailandmuttered. He’d pretty much wedged himself into Yuuri’s life as probably the closest thing he had to a best friend.

 

“No one’s replacing you, Phichit.”

 

“I’m just saying, you wouldn’t let me in your personal bubble like that without a fuss.”

 

Yuuri huffed, turning towards his friend. “It’s a dog, Phichit. It doesn’t have a concept of personal space. It’s well-behaved and not getting in my way, unlike some overly helpful friends of mine.”

 

Phichit held a hand to his chest in mock scandal. “Fine fine, you keep digging for your elusive skull that we’re not going to find. I’m moving down to area K to work on that exposed femur we found earlier.”

 

Yuuri looked back to the area in front of him, suddenly unsure if it was worth digging any longer at this site. But as if it could sense Yuuri’s predicament, the dog stood up and walked forward, nudging its nose into the dirt and sneezing a clump of it off as it pulled back.

 

“Hey now, I was just complimenting you,” Yuuri muttered, reaching out to pull the dog back.

 

But as he did, he spotted the small black edge of what looked to be another tooth sticking out of the dirt where the dog had just dug.

 

“It’s another…” He paused, blinking at the dog. “How did you know that was there?”

 

“I don’t know. Dogs like bones, I guess?” Phichit replied, gathering up his bag. “So it looks like you have yourself an assistant.”

 

Yuuri felt an incredulous smile tug at his lips. He gave the dog a well earned pat, that it once again nuzzled back into.

 

“Guess so.”

 

* * *

 

It had been four days since the dog had first appeared at the dig site.

 

Yuuri had grown to rather enjoy its- no _his_ , his gender was no longer a mystery after it turned out the large white dog very much liked belly scritches- company. He mostly rambled at length about what he was doing and his hypothesis for what type of therapsid the bones he’d found went to, his current theory being a creature that would have probably been roughly the same size as the large dog.

 

And, as odd as it seemed to consider, the dog did seem to have a sixth sense about where to dig for bones. Yuuri had already unearthed a complete set of leg bones and parts of the spine and tail mostly thanks to the dog starting to dig in a nearby location and Yuuri figuring why not and looking there as well.

 

In fact, after the heavy rain the night before, Yuuri was pretty excited to see what might have washed out in the dig site. What he hadn’t expected was to be met with a very muddy and very enthusiastic wet dog.

 

“Okay, down down!”

 

The dog barked and ran over to where it had clearly been digging.

 

Not about to ask questions now, Yuuri followed and there it was in the muddy hole, the complete skull of a Biarmosuchus.

 

Up to his knees in mud and not really caring, Yuuri excitedly picked up the dog and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

 

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

 

The dog blinked, but after a moment, returned it with a few sloppy wet kisses to Yuuri’s face.

 

After setting the dog back down, Yuuri quickly went about putting down tarps over the areas that still needed to be excavated. If he was lucky, most of the other bones he was still missing from the complete skeleton were around it. But right now, he had something more important to do.

 

He had a dog to take care of.

 

“Hey, why don’t we go back to my place so you don’t have to stay out in the rain anymore?”

 

It had already started to drizzle again, and as much as Yuuri didn’t mind working through it, he was already worried about the dog getting sick considering it looked like it had spent the night out in the rain.

 

The dog seemed surprised by this, but then excitedly jumped up for Yuuri’s attention once more.

 

And although the dog was rather large, some sort of white husky mix Yuuri thought, Yuuri didn’t hesitate to scoop the dog up into his arms at least to get him up the muddy hill. He was rewarded with another lick to his cheek.

 

“Let’s get you dry and get you something to eat, okay?”

 

The dog seemed to relax at that, nuzzling its nose under Yuuri’s chin, and he wondered how long it had been since this poor dog had any place to call home.

 

* * *

 

Yuuri probably should have sensed something was off the moment the dog began to panic, the sight of the soapy bathwater enough to cause the dog to do everything short of actually hurting Yuuri to get away.

 

After holding the dog over the bathwater for a time, it finally slipped free, falling directly down into the water with a splash. And when the water settled once more, there was no longer a dog seated in his bathtub, but a man with silver hair and incredibly familiar blue eyes.

 

Covering his eyes, Yuuri pointed in the man’s general direction.

 

“Okay, who are you and what are you doing here?” he asked frantically.

 

He could hear him heave a heavy sigh at that. “I tried my best to avoid it coming to this, so I’m very sorry. This isn’t exactly how I imagined this conversation going.”

 

There was a something in his voice, the tone of it, the way it lingered on certain words, that made Yuuri drop the hand over his eyes. He blinked over at the man, still unsure what to make of the matter.

 

“Who are you?” Yuuri tried again; softer, gentler.

 

“Don’t you mean _what_ am I?” the man countered, a distinct bitterness in his words. “I’m sorry to say that yes I am one and the same as the dog you’ve been looking after. It’s part of the curse I’m under.”

 

Slowly, Yuuri’s mind began to put pieces of the puzzle together. “And the water...changed you back?”

 

“For now,” he replied in resignation. “I don’t want to startle you any further than I’m certain I already have, so I’ll explain quickly and then be out of your way.” He paused. “I’m a wawkalak, or as it’s more familiarly called, a werewolf. It runs in my family and affects any male born on Christmas Eve once they hit the age of fifteen. I was only beginning to be born on the 24th and my birthday is technically the 25th, but lucky for me I got the curse all the same.”

 

His expression was hard to read as he studied to see what Yuuri had made of his confession.

 

“If you excuse yourself from the room I can turn back and be on my way. I wouldn’t want to trouble you any further than I already have.”

 

But Yuuri had already made up his mind; he could see that the man was injured with various scrapes and bruises, and much like he’d suspected earlier, being out in the rain overnight had clearly not helped his health at all.

 

Slowly, as if still not sure he was real, Yuuri walked back over to the edge of the tub and reached down, pressing his hand against the man’s forehead.

 

He let out a sigh. “You’re running a fever.”

 

“I’m fine, really.”

 

Yuuri gave him a gentle smile. He knew those eyes, and that meant the dog who had been helping him, even if it was quite unbelievable, was surely this man as well.

 

“What’s your name?”

 

He seemed surprised by the question. “My...name?”

 

“I can keep calling you Shiro-san, if you want,” Yuuri teased, hoping it might make him less apprehensive. “But I’d much prefer to use your actual name.”

 

“It’s…” he took a deep breath, and with it came the hint of a smile. “It’s Victor.”

 

If he hadn’t already decided to help him, this would have done it by itself. For mixed in with those simple words, Yuuri got the impression it had been a long time since he’d used this name at all.

 

“Okay, Victor.” He gave a smile at that. “I’ll let you finish warming up in the bath and get you some clothes. There’s a first aid kit under the sink and um…”

 

He hesitated, suddenly realizing that he was no longer caring for a stray dog but was instead inviting an actual person into his home.

 

A very attractive person at that.

 

Yuuri stood and made for the door, as if some distance from him might make him less attractive.

 

It didn’t.

 

“Is tea all right?”

 

Victor stared, disbelieving. “Tea?”

 

“I ran out of coffee yesterday and I’m sure you’d rather have something warm.”

 

If possible, Victor’s shock seemed to be more so than Yuuri’s.

 

“I don’t understand.”

 

Yuuri nervously ran a hand up through his hair. “Sorry, is this like a vampire, do I need to formally invite you in in order for you to stay?”

 

Victor’s face seemed to flush pink at that, and for a moment Yuuri worried that his fever was getting worse.

 

“I can stay? Here? As...myself?”

 

“I’m going to guess since it seems you can change at will that you’d prefer to stay in your human form. Either way, I’m not going to turn you out on the street when you’re sick and probably the only reason I’ve found more than a few teeth at the dig site. It’s honestly the least I can do.”

 

“I...thank you. Really, thank you. I’m extremely grateful.”

 

At that his stomach decided to make itself aware with a notable growl.

 

Yuuri just bit back a chuckle. “I’ll see what kind of food I have around too. You can tell me more about yourself as we eat.”

 

And Yuuri couldn’t miss the relieved expression as it flickered across Victor’s features and settled there, as if it had truly been a long time since he’d been able to relax.

 

* * *

 

Werewolves, or more specifically wawkalak, were a bit different than Yuuri expected.

 

On the good side of things: Victor could transform into his wolf form at will, he could easily change back by submerging himself in water, and he was honestly only as docile or mean as any normal dog might be. The bad side of it, Yuuri discovered, seemed to be more how Victor was coping with it.

 

Since he’d turned fifteen, Victor could never stay in one place for long. Yuuri suspected, although he didn’t say, that it was so no one became aware of what he was. And Victor had discovered that people were far more likely to treat a stray dog kindly than a homeless human being, so he mostly stayed in that form in order to get the kindness of strangers.

 

He did have some belongings, but he’d unknowingly put them in a cavern that was inaccessible during parts of the year with heavy precipitation; the river rising and cutting it off from access without a boat that could cross the swift currents.

 

And so, once again counting on someone to take pity on the stray dog, that was how he’d met Yuuri.

 

But one thing, most of all, stood out the most to Yuuri, that Victor, despite his flippant remarks otherwise, was extremely lonely.

 

Yuuri first came to understand this when he’d suggested going back to the dig site and leaving Victor at his apartment to rest up; Victor reacted in almost a flighty panic and insisted he needed to go with him if that were the case.

 

Knowing Victor wasn’t going to get better by traipsing around out in the drizzling rain, Yuuri  agreed to stay home that day along with him. Victor’s utter relief was extremely obvious. As it was, Yuuri was beginning to suspect he was partially starved for human contact, a theory that seemed to only be verified as the night went on.

 

It was the lingering touch as he handed over his mug, the way Victor huddled next to Yuuri on the couch claiming he was cold but not allowing Yuuri to get him another blanket. Somehow or another, they’d ended up watching a movie and while Yuuri pointedly noted all the scientific inaccuracies with the dinosaurs in it, Victor did his best to edge ever closer without notice.

 

Remembering how eager the dog seemed for affection, Yuuri rallied himself against his own nerves and decided he’d just have to do something about it before Victor made himself any sicker over it.

 

In a move that Yuuri knew by no means was remotely smooth, he let his arm fall gently around Victor’s shoulders as he leaned over to check his temperature once more.

 

“I think it’s getting a bit better,” he said, definitely noticing the way Victor had practically melted into his arm.

 

“Y-Yeah,” Victor managed.

 

He seemed conflicted about something, so figuring it was worth at least trying, Yuuri asked, ”Is something else bothering you?”

“No. Just sick I suppose.”

 

But Yuuri could tell that wasn’t all. “Um...you don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, but...how long have you been wandering without a home? It seems like a really rough life.”

 

For a brief moment, there was something scared and vulnerable in Victor’s expression and when he answered, his voice was quiet and withdrawn.

 

“A while.”

 

Yuuri’s words stumbled out before he could stop them. “How many years is a while?”

 

Victor dropped his gaze to the floor.

 

“Victor…”

 

“You said earlier that my curse wasn’t that bad, that at least I have control of myself…” He took a shaky breath. “But a wawkalak’s curse isn’t the transformation. It’s the inability to stay in any place for long. It literally drives us crazy, so we have to keep traveling, always. We don’t have a home. As much as we long for something simple like a home, we can’t have it.”

 

He surely heard the soft gasp that Yuuri let slip, and if he was indeed glancing up out of his peripheral vision, Victor surely saw the expression of dawning horror as it went across Yuuri’s face.

 

Victor plunged ahead anyways. “It’s been twelve years since I had a place to call home. And…” he paused, his words sticking in his throat. “Probably about five years since the last time I’ve spent more than an hour or two as a human.”

 

Yuuri moved before his brain could even register it, his arms wrapping Victor tight in an embrace and holding him close as if it could somehow protect him from this fate.

 

“I’m so sorry. That’s...that’s terrible.”

 

And the most heartbreaking part was that Victor didn’t say a word more, but simply clutched Yuuri closer as if his life depended on it.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, who are you and what have you done with Yuuri Katsuki?”

 

Yuuri sighed. He should have expected this.

 

“Phichit. I’m me, okay?”

 

“Uh uh mister. First, you call me yesterday. Say you had a big find but then you _mysteriously_ went home ‘sick.’ Then you show up with this?” At this, he gestured towards Victor emphatically. “And don’t you give me that innocent look, he is _wearing your clothing_. You cannot lie to me.”

 

“Victor, meet Phichit. He’s usually not this dramatic,” Yuuri said, trying not to let his friend get him flustered.

 

Victor gave a smile and held out a hand. “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 

Phichit eyed the hand warily, shook it, then rounded on Yuuri once more. This time whispering furiously.

 

“Okay, seriously Yuuri, spill. Because it’s not like you to play hooky from work then show up with some extremely attractive guy wearing your dimetrodon isn't a dinosaur shirt and what I’m pretty sure are a pair of your sweatpants and shoes.”

 

Yuuri tried not to think about Phichit’s implication. Really. He’d been trying not to think of that since yesterday afternoon when they figured out that Victor was so lonely that once Yuuri hugged him he seemed permanently glued to his side. And he was definitely trying _not_ to think about the fact that Victor had slept in his bed, curled into his arms because when he’d tried to sleep on the couch alone he’d had a nightmare.

 

Really. It was all easily explained if you understood that Victor was suffering some touched starved werewolf PTSD and that apparently Yuuri had opened the floodgate on the matter.

 

With a heavy sigh, Yuuri leveled Phichit with a look. “You aren’t going to believe me if I tell you the truth.”

 

Phichit crossed his arms. “Try me.”

 

Yuuri looked over to Victor at that.

 

“Go ahead. I had a feeling that any of your associates might have to be aware of the situation.”

 

“Okay. So.” Yuuri rubbed the back of his neck. “Victor’s a werewolf; that white dog that’s been hanging around is actually him. He kind of got a fever because he’s been out in the rain and didn’t have any belongings with him so I lent him my clothes and let him crash at my apartment yesterday.”

 

Phichit looked from Yuuri to Victor and back.

 

“A werewolf?”

 

Victor nodded. “Specifically the Russian wawkalak type.”

 

He shrugged. “Okay. That’s fair.”

 

Yuuri blinked. “Really? You believe that?”

 

Phichit gave him a pat on the shoulder. “You aren’t the type to lie like that, Yuuri.” He turned to Victor at that. “Real question is how have you been finding all the bones we’re overlooking?”

 

Victor shifted closer to Yuuri before replying, “My senses are amplified somewhat. Well, and I really wanted Yuuri to hang around longer, so I may have been trying very hard to find a reason to keep him here.”

 

Phichit laughed it off like a joke, but there was something in the way he said it, something in Victor’s eyes when he did, that made Yuuri wonder if perhaps he was telling the truth about this as well.

 

* * *

 

Yuuri had spent the last week trying to deny how close he’d become with Victor.

 

He was certain that the only reason Victor _seemed_ so affectionate was just his need for human contact, nothing personal at all. Or worse, he feared that the only reason Victor had attached to him so quickly was because he was simply that desperate.

 

He hadn’t expected to get his own heart tangled up in the matter and he certainly didn’t expect Victor’s situation to practically drive him into Yuuri’s arms.

 

But there was just something sweet about the hesitant, gentle way Victor would nudge his hand as if to encourage him to tangle their fingers together.

 

Something wonderful about the fact that he’d taken a particular liking to Yuuri’s pink triceratops shirt that cheerfully proclaimed “I am a beautiful dinocorn.”

 

And most of all, something deep and warm that pooled in Yuuri’s chest when Victor would call out to him in the night and hold out his arms, waiting for Yuuri to pull him close.

 

As they got closer and closer to finding all the bones for the Biarmosuchus, Yuuri’s excitement over the find was quickly being overtaken by the idea that he’d soon be leaving Victor to continue to fend for himself in the world alone.

 

Phichit had suggested that Yuuri offer up the potential relationship that they seemed to have but never referred to it as such, but Yuuri’s mind would counter it with a thousand excuses of why he couldn’t assume that Victor felt anything more than friendship for him. Victor had trusted him with so much, Yuuri couldn’t imagine betraying that by ruining their friendship over something like his own feelings. Just because Victor needed him didn’t mean he wanted him and Yuuri was just going to have to resign himself to that.

 

And so, in hopes that he could continue to show Victor that he was more than willing to offer him all the friendship he could ever want, Yuuri suggested that they go the next day to get Victor’s belongings now that the river had gone down some.

 

Victor seemed to be rather surprised by the offer, but quietly he accepted Yuuri’s help. It probably bothered him, having to rely on someone else for basics like clothing and food, Yuuri thought.

 

They rented a small boat from the closest dock and with Victor’s directions, they were able to navigate to the small cave that was hidden under an overpass. As they brought it up to the scrap of shoreline in front of it, Yuuri started to get up to help Victor with his things.

 

But Victor, hand warm on Yuuri’s shoulder, pushed him back down into the seat.

 

“It’s fine. I’ve got this.”

 

As always, Yuuri had to trust Victor on this matter. And, if Victor wanted to make multiple trips back and forth to the boat just because he could as a human do just that, then who was Yuuri to argue the point.

 

It wasn’t long at all before Victor returned, a small two pouch backpack of sorts clutched in his hand and a forced smile on his face. Yuuri stared as he got back in the boat, glancing from the small bag to Victor and back.

 

“What’s wrong?” Victor asked.

 

“Is that…” Yuuri’s heart lodged itself in his chest, that cold horror of the matter slowly spreading throughout his veins, “everything?”

 

Victor looked down at it and then back, his smile gone. “I used to have a big camping sized backpack, but it just became a hassle because if I transformed it was too heavy to move. So. Yeah. This is everything.”

 

Despite all Victor had told him, it had never sunk in to this degree how badly off he’d been. It was a two pouch _dog_ sized backpack. Probably able to contain a change of clothes, a few things for an emergency, and little else. That was Victor’s everything.

 

The boat rocked as Yuuri stood up hastily, him stepping out onto the shore and running up to the cave to see himself, for surely it had to be a mistake. But the cave was small, with most of its passages so narrow even Victor as a dog couldn’t have fit into them; and there was nothing else in there that would belong to human or dog.

 

Victor had gotten out of the boat and was standing just outside of the cave by the time Yuuri returned; his frantic expression met by Victor’s frown and downcast eyes.

 

“Victor, how…” Yuuri shook his head, his mind suddenly too full of noise to think. “You can’t live like that! You’re a human too, Victor. That isn’t fair.”

 

His fingers tightened around the straps to what was clearly his whole world. “No, it’s not fair. But what else can I do?”

 

“I don’t know...but there’s got to be something!”

 

For the first time since he’d met him, Yuuri finally saw a flash of anger in Victor’s eyes. “Don’t you think I’ve tried, Yuuri? Do you think this was my first choice? I can’t work anywhere because I’m never there long enough to collect a paycheck. I’ve got some money saved, but I try not to use it except in emergencies because the last thing I want is to have to rely on some good samaritan to pay the vet or hospital or whatever the next time I’m seriously hurt.”

 

Eyes sharp, for once more wolf than ever like before, Victor stared him down.

 

“I’m not the only one out there, Yuuri. And some of the others aren’t so friendly. I don’t want to wake up again in a vet clinic half-dead and only alive because someone had a kind enough heart to drag my sorry ass off the road!”

 

Yuuri met his gaze, his eyes lit with a fire of his own. “You aren’t living, Victor! You’re just surviving and that’s not healthy. Your fever might have gone away, but your health isn’t any better. Just because the pain is on the inside doesn’t mean you can ignore it!”

 

“Look, Yuuri, I appreciate what you’ve done for me; but I can’t stay. I can _never_ stay. I don’t get to have a place to call home. Ever.”

 

He closed the distance between them, suddenly even the smallest of spaces seeming too much, too far. And although Yuuri reached out with a gentle touch, Victor jumped back as if he’d been slapped.

 

But Yuuri held his ground.

 

“Fine! Then don’t have a place. You don’t need a place. A person can be a home too, okay?!”

 

And Yuuri didn’t even realize the extent of his words until he saw Victor’s eyes go wide and all the anger and frustration disappear from his face.

 

“I...is that an offer?”

 

He asked it in a voice so small the sound of the river almost swallowed it up.

 

Yuuri took a deep breath, hoping with everything that he was that he wasn’t about to mess this up.

 

“Yes.”

 

Victor stared, his eyes going wider.

 

“I travel a lot with my job. I’m rarely staying over a month anywhere and…” Yuuri let out a ragged breath, “and I need someone to call home too.”

 

Victor dropped the bag, what little space between them suddenly gone as he moved forward, his hands tentative, as if he wasn’t sure what was or wasn’t acceptable at a time like this. Finally, he settled them on Yuuri’s shoulders and Victor could feel the tremble in them as he shakily spoke.

 

“Do you mean this? I’m…”

 

“You’re wonderful, Victor,” Yuuri cut him off, knowing from personal experience that Victor was surely about to start making excuses on his own behalf.

 

When he looked surprised in response, Yuuri continued.

 

“I mean it. I don’t think many people could have survived what you’ve been through and not become bitter and spiteful about it, but you did. You’re lonely and you make really bad puns about anything and everything and when you laugh it’s like...my heart just gets so full I almost can’t handle it. I want you, Victor. Just as you are.”

 

And before he could regret spilling his heart out, Victor was kissing him and it didn’t matter anymore. They parted after several moments, both of them breathless and Victor’s smile brighter than ever before.

 

“I’d love to have you to call home, Yuuri. If you’ll have me.”

 

“Nothing would make me happier.”

 

By the time they were back in the boat, Yuuri’s heart was full and he was already thinking to himself how he would have to break the news to Phichit. Then another thought crossed his mind and he started laughing to himself.

 

“What’s so funny?” Victor asked, his own smile still just as bright.

 

Yuuri just grinned. “I’m never getting my triceratops shirt back, am I?”

 

Victor looked down at the shirt before glancing back to Yuuri.

 

“I think I much prefer being a dinocorn than a werewolf, so…”

 

Yuuri just chuckled, glad to see Victor’s expression so relaxed and light.

 

“God, I love you.”

 

Victor blinked, a moment of shock before he almost toppled the boat in his excitement to respond. Finally, wobbly boat starting to settle, Victor nuzzled his nose against Yuuri’s in reply.

 

“I love you too. Why I’d say you’ve got me _raptor_ round your finger, even!”

 

And for one moment, Yuuri was rather glad Victor only had one small bag of things, because it made it far easier to retrieve it when they accidentally tipped the boat over in their laughter.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> \-- More about the [wawkalak of Russia](https://www.werewolves.com/werewolves-in-russia/)
> 
> \-- Adorable therapsid [Biarmosuchus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biarmosuchus)
> 
> \-- [All the very nerdy paleontology info on the Cheremushka dig sites you could ever want.](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vladimir_Silantiev/publication/280326951_Type_and_reference_sections_of_the_Middle_and_Upper_Permian_of_the_Volga_and_Kama_River_Regions_A_Field_Guidebook_of_XVIII_International_Congress_on_Carboniferous_and_Permian_Kazan_August_16-20_2015/links/55b3256a08aec0e5f431d87b/Type-and-reference-sections-of-the-Middle-and-Upper-Permian-of-the-Volga-and-Kama-River-Regions-A-Field-Guidebook-of-XVIII-International-Congress-on-Carboniferous-and-Permian-Kazan-August-16-20-201.pdf)


End file.
